KABUL - Afghan government on Tuesday confirmed that a number of opportunistic figures and armed groups have tried to muscle in on Afghanistan's mines.
"Terrorist groups pay all their attention to the areas with national resources. Meanwhile, opportunistic figures use security gaps to misuse Afghanistan's natural resources," said President Ashraf Ghani's deputy spokesman Shahussain Murtazawi.
This comes after Global Witness on Monday issued a new report on the millions of dollars being lost due to illegal mining activities. In addition they said the mining of lapis lazuli was funding the war.
But former defense minister Bismillah Mohammadi rejected the allegations lodged against him in a report by Global Witness.
The Global Witness Report said in its report that Mohammadi supports a local commander in Badakhshan who is engaged in illegal extraction of lapis lazuli and also that Mohammadi himself has a hand in the lapis trade.
The report also mentioned that MP Zalmai Mujaddidi, his brother Assadullah Mujaddidi and another MP Zikriya Sawda are involved in illegal mining in Badakhshan.
The report spoke of Bismillah Mohammadi's close ties with commander Abdul Malik, who has control over mines in Kiran Manjan district in Badakhshan.
However, Mohammadi said he has no connection with illegal mining.
"I had relations with the commander [Abdul Malik] when we fought against the communists and Russians, but it is a long time that I have not seen him," he said.
He said that during his service as minister he tried to end the Taliban's influence in Kiran Manjan.
"Kiran Manjan means more than mines to us. When I was the defense minister, I sent the special unit to clear the district of insurgents," Mohammadi added.
Meanwhile, lapis dealers said that rifts among involved groups in lapis lazuli extraction and smuggling has affected their business.
"We have invested lots of money in the [semi-precious] stones. Now I can do nothing with it because business is bad," said Mohammad Akbar, a lapis trader.
According to Global Witness the Taliban and other armed groups are earning up to $20 million USD dollars a year from Afghanistan's lapis mines.
Afghanistan's untapped mineral resources have been estimated to be worth up to $3 trillion dollars. Global Witness says in its reports that the country will face new challenges in the future if illegal mining is not stopped.(Tolonews)